Retrospective: It's a Wonderful Life (Patreon)

Few Hollywood tearjerkers work as hard to earn their sentimentality as It's A Wonderful Life. Plenty of movies want to make the audience cry; not many make people happy that they cried.

For roughly the first hour, It's A Wonderful Life is a cracked but classic studio system romcom. The film cycles through great comedy sequences like the prom swimming pool and everything involving Uncle Billy. The story is meticulously constructed, with a clear indication of where it's headed — the prelude with the people of Bedford Falls praying for George as the angels and saints conspire to thwart George's suicide attempt brace the audience for tragedy in the second half. But It's a Wonderful Life spends a good amount of time just being funny and allowing the Baileys to be a cute and lovable family who faces many of the same hurdles as any other family, while also meticulously positioning the dominoes that it'll knock over in the movie's second half. George Bailey is one of the great Hollywood heroes; a principled and compassionate little Christian capitalist who serves as the last bulwark between Bedford Falls and slumlord Mr. Potter. Marshall Plan-era capitalist propaganda has never been so endearing.

When the catastrophe that inevitably throws George Bailey's life into chaos, we feel his pain after an hour of watching him throw away his hopes and dreams to save his community. His sacrifices feel utterly futile when the worst capitalist in town comes to mow him down. Being principled hasn't saved him; if anything, trusting people seems like a bad idea after Uncle Billy mishandles $8,000.

The fact that It's A Wonderful Life can find such beauty in catastrophe is simply magical. George finds beauty and joy and love he would never have seen if things hadn't gone so badly wrong first. As my friend Will Shaw pointed out, it's impossible not to cry at the ending. The movie works hard to earn that "Auld Lang Syne", and it earns it tenfold. Crying at the movies never felt so good.